SINGAPORE – If you could be a fantasy character for a day, who would you be?
That is the question posed to those attending Lion City Faire, an upcoming renaissance fair set in a fantasy universe inspired by Singapore’s history.
Held at Fort Canning Park on June 13 and 14, the fair reimagines the island nation’s past as a port settlement and neighbouring shores through performances, activities and workshops that blend local folklore and fairy tales.
Attendees are encouraged to cosplay as a character of this mythical realm, with best-dressed prizes up for grabs.
Those who lean more towards creative art can try their hand at fashioning leather pouches and painting figurines of heroes and monsters.
Children aged 13 and older can learn to fight like a mediaeval knight at a workshop taught by Bastion HEMA, a historical European martial arts academy.
There will also be a marketplace with more than 70 vendors; quests for attendees to embark on; tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons; and meet-and-greet sessions with British actor Theo Solomon, who voices the human warlock Wyll in the popular role-playing video game Baldur’s Gate 3.
Fans of Singaporean drag artiste Opera Tang and local cosplayers Kiyo and Ruri will also get a chance to meet them at the event, which is expected to draw more than 2,400 attendees.
There are also free performances by local and regional artistes, including Filipino folk metal band Adamanta, local symphonic metal band Sangriento and Opera Tang.
Opera Tang, who will put on three drag performances inspired by different Singapore icons, said she is looking forward to the event.
“I love that we’re having a Singapore-themed renaissance fair. We have so much actual history and traditions to play on to create our own fantasies with.”
Tickets to the fair are on sale until June 13, with prices ranging from $22 to $120. Bundle tickets for groups of five cost $180 for standard entry and $550 for VIP entry. Children aged 12 and under can enter for free. Faithful steeds (pets) are also allowed on site, but owners must keep them leashed and clean up after them.
Themed A Symphony Of Land And Sea, Lion City Faire puts a South-east Asian spin on renaissance fairs, which are popular in North America and Europe and typically blend mediaeval history with cosplay elements.
The event’s lead organiser, Eris Lim, said her team drew from stories of Orang Bunian – supernatural entities invisible to humans in Malay folklore – for inspiration for the event’s setting.
“In recent years, renaissance fairs have moved towards a broader fantasy aesthetic, but Singapore and South-east Asia have their own rich traditions to draw from,” she told The Straits Times.
“Our team wanted to look inward instead, to spotlight our region’s unique stories, myths and legends passed down through oral traditions.”
Some members of her team will role-play characters from this make-believe realm, and join performers roaming the grounds.
Lim, 29, who works as an illustrator and comic artist, said renaissance fairs were “not as well-established in Singapore yet”.
She hopes the event will remind attendees that “our cultures are beautiful, unique and full of colour” and to take pride in the history that built the region into what it is today.
